The Scariest Gadgets Around

With Halloween just around the corner, what better time to examine some of the scariest technology around. I’m not talking about all of the electronic vampires and ghost that tend to pop up in the holiday section of your local drugstore chain–these are gadgets that can actually maim you, light you on fire, or worse.
We asked the PCMag staff to pull together some of the creepiest, scariest, and generally worrisome gadgets around.

Big Dog Robot

Is Boston Dynamics’ Big Dog an all-terrain transport robot or nightmarish, headless hell beast? You be the judge! (Because we’re not going anywhere near the thing.)Counterfeit Exploding PS3 Controller

Today’s controllers are so lifelike. They really do a great job putting you right in the middle of the action. That said, a new batch of counterfeit PS3 peripherals may take things a step too far. Sony issued a consumer alert stating that the controllers, “may ignite or explode, resulting in injury or damage to the user, your PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, or other property.” What happened to the good old days of the Rumble Pak?Exploding Dell Inspiron

The threat of an exploding laptop is scary enough, but when said laptop is stored with several boxes of ammunition, that really drives the point home. That’s exactly what happened to Thomas Forqueran in the summer of 2006. The result was a destroyed truck–and a battery recall.First Generation iPod Nano (Japan)

It took more than two years, but earlier this summer, Apple finally agreed to replace the first generation of iPod nanos in Japan, which had the tendency to overheat and, on occasion, throw out sparks.Honda CR-V

Back in 2004, Honda had its own fiery problem–more than 60 CR-Vs caught fire after their owners brought them in for an oil change. The company initially dismissed the reports as isolated incidents caused by mechanics. Ultimately, however, Honda took the blame, attributing the problem to an issue with the car’s gasket.Leopard-Print Taser

Fashion accessory or dangerous weapon? It’s both! Bonus points for the Taser holster that also serves as an MP3 player.Lying Robots

Scientists teach robots to do all sorts of crazy things–bomb disarming, childcare, weapon brandishing, archery–but all of those acts seem to pale in comparison to what scientists in Georgia taught robots to do just last month: lie.
Here’s a quote from one of the scientists in charge of the project, “We have developed algorithms that allow a robot to determine whether it should deceive a human or other intelligent machine and we have designed techniques that help the robot select the best deceptive strategy to reduce its chance of being discovered.”
Uh oh.Segway
The recent death of Jimi Heselden (who plunged off a cliff to his death while riding on a Segway) has shed some light on the potential danger of these two wheel transportation devices. According to a recent study by the Annals of Emergency Medicine, injuries are on the rise. As one doctor interviewed for the piece, “The Segway may seem cool, but there’s nothing cool about a head injury.”
Truer words were never spoken, doc.Telenoid R1